Our journey began as a mission in 2024 - to be involved in the lives of five of our grandchildren - three of whom are very close in age. We were very active with the older grandchildren before they moved - Grandma and Grandpa were needed to help with school events, sports, and sleep overs on weekends. We felt that our families in Ohio had very good support systems and our physical presence there wasn’t critical as it would be in Kentucky. So, after months of searching and long weekend trips back and forth to Southern Kentucky, we found the perfect house - checked all the boxes. We made and offer and it was accepted. One week before closing (but after our Akron house closed), we found out that the seller had passed away and the house went into probate - our deal was invalid - we had nowhere to live. The new owners of our home in Akron graciously allowed us another week to try to find somewhere to live.

Panicked, we returned to Kentucky with a mission - find a house that fit the budget and was vacant or could be vacant within 12 days. Surprisingly, we found one - not fancy - very bland and basic - and was in the process of being rehabbed when we looked at it. We made an offer with the condition that we could rent the house while our financing was moved and while the house rehab was finished. The offer was accepted. Our plan was to update the house and make it nice, work on the landscaping and then sell in two years. We would be in the area and could look at houses as they hit the market.

This is where our nightmare began - the house wasn’t being rehabbed - it was being flipped. Poorly flipped. Our contract stated the house was “AS IS”. We noticed a lot of chemical fumes in the house - we were told it was adhesives and general chemicals used to clean. The flipper didn’t finish the house - doors were missing, cabinets not installed correctly, broken windows not repaired as agreed upon. The flipper refused to finish - he was out of money. He had disappeared for a brief time - we found out that he had put gasoline in his diesel truck and blew the engine. Bill did try to walk away at signing, but was advised by the real estate agent of the legal and financial perils of doing so - so we signed for the house.

We began to remodel. We hired a contractor to enclose the attached garage and install screen doors. This contractor asked us if we knew the history of the house. We didn’t know anything so he filled us in. A family member of the original owner was a meth addict - arrested for possession with intent to distribute. The flipper had mentioned “drug use” in the house - not what kind of drug use. The contractor told us that the back corner of the house was missing along with a section of the roof exposing it to the elements. He knew all of this because he repaired it and put the new roof on. He also installed a new electric service panel that was seriously tampered with after the inspection and prior to our purchase.

The bathroom “remodel” failed - the vinyl veneer fell off the walls and the toilet almost fell through the floor. The shower was plumbed backwards. The water heater was installed improperly - hot and cold are crossed somewhere causing it to fail. We hired a new contractor for the rest of the house as our original contractor had other work. The new contractor was initially hired to remodel the bathroom. He confirmed the plumbing issues, the toilet was millimeters from falling through the floor. Behind one wall was a live wire - two wire nuts lay on the floor joist - they fell off. The new contractor did a fabulous job and he was hired to replace the windows and siding. During his work, he showed us where there was an attempt to repair the back corner of the house. He did some stabilization so it wouldn’t fail and so he had something to attach the siding to - but advised it would eventually have to be rebuilt. The plan was to have him work on gutters and soffits in the summer of 2025.

Then the septic failed - 7 months after we moved in. The septic company owner asked if the issue was disclosed in our sales agreement. We advised that we bought the house “AS IS”. He responded that “AS IS” doesn’t mean you don’t disclose issues - it is even more important that all issues are disclosed. We recalled the paperwork when we sold our house in Akron - our realtor strongly advised the importance of disclosing everything to prevent being sued at a later date - we sold the Akron house “AS IS”.

So, we looked at the disclosures from our contract - nothing was disclosed. We had looked at it during the purchase phase, but we were over 400 miles away and couldn’t verify any of it. We had seen a rehab in progress and had promises from the seller of the things he would finish. We expected to have an FHA inspection as we have an FHA loan. Apparently, an FHA appraisal was done; however, after closer review and living here for awhile, we don’t believe the appraiser ever entered the house. The appraiser stated there was a working dishwasher (there is no dishwasher) and that the HVAC system was new and functional. There was an old oil furnace that hadn’t been used in years and there was no oil tank on the property. The new HVAC system was installed three days prior to closing. We were using window units to keep the house cool as it was 95 degrees in June, 2024 in Kentucky.

As we were reviewing the document, we noticed that there is a Methamphetamine Disclosure — it is a Class D Felony in Kentucky if you don’t report known or possible meth contamination. The seller marked “unknown”. We purchased a meth test kit online and the result was highly positive. We contacted the state and were told to file a complaint with the Kentucky State Police. We did. After review, they needed us to prove that the flipper was aware - dead end. We hired an attorney which was no easy task. We paid to have the house professionally tested and confirmed contamination - at levels high enough that no one should live here until decontaminated. We have been living here since 6/13/2024.

We had been feeling sick starting around three months after we moved in - but we attributed it to a new environment and the stress of the move. Once we knew the house was contaminated, we began seeing a medical health provider who specializes in treating former addicts and he stated we were both suffering from meth contamination poisoning.

Bill has constant headaches, rashes, more prominent AFIB issues - weekly at this point (which had been rare over the last 3-4 years), stomach issues and overall exhaustion because he can’t sleep - generally getting 4 hours of sleep a night if he is lucky.

Angie has a constant rash in her armpits that has caused scaring, headaches, exhaustion from not being able to sleep, and issues with her lungs that were not present previous to living in this house. Her MS has been in remission for 23 years and the MS Neurologist is concerned that the neurotoxins will negatively impact her MS causing episodes and increased symptoms.

Our first attorney changed law firms two weeks before we were to go to mediation and the law firm was unable to keep us as clients. We had one week to find another attorney after paying this firm $5100 ($4000 of which we borrowed and must repay). We finally found another attorney willing to take our case on a contingency - for mediation only. The seller of the house would not negotiate in good faith and we walked away without a solution. We can take him to court, at a cost in excess of $50,000 and at least two years in court with the hope that he can actually pay anything.

Due to our current health situation, we cannot be in this environment for two years. Our children, grandchildren and friends rarely come to this house because of the risk to their health-especially when the HVAC is running. We work from home which further impacts our health decline.

We have a few options:

Remediate the house. To remediate the house, we need to have the house decontaminated at a cost of roughly $20,000. Once that process is complete, we need to hire a contractor to rebuild the interior - the remediation will remove walls, ceilings, floors, HVAC ventilation, etc. Our personal belongings also need to be decontaminated. The cost for the contractor is roughly $120,000 to put the house back to a livable condition. We will also need an alternate living situation for 30-45 days while all of this takes place along with storage for our belongings. If we ever decide to sell the house, we have to declare that it was meth contaminated and remediated - lowering the value of the property.

Knock the house down and put a double wide mobile home on the property. To knock the house down and prepare it for a mobile home is roughly $10,000. A mobile home with the same number of bedrooms and square footage will run between $100,000 and $120,000 set up on the property and move in ready. To knock the house down, our mortgage has to be paid in full. We will need an alternate living situation for approximately 30 days while the house is knocked down and the mobile home is installed along with storage for our belongings.

Then we have the septic issue - the leach field does not work - we aren’t sure if there are other issues with the tank. (We currently pump the tank every 60-90 days as it fills - we have rerouted everything except the toilet to our gray water). The cost to repair/replace the septic system is roughly $10,000.

We can’t buy another house because we have invested all of our money into this house - and it is not safe for us to be here. We have reviewed all options including insurance (this is not a covered peril). We don’t know what to do - other than to finally ask for help. Our goal is to eventually move away from this property - the emotional and financial impact will haunt us for years to come. For now, we need to have a house that is safe for us to live in - free from meth contamination with a functioning septic system. Our goal is to raise $250,000 to pay off our mortgage and remodeling debts incurred to date so that we can put a different house on this property and fix the septic system — a safe place for us to live and our family to visit.

Thank you for taking the time to read our journey. We appreciate your help.

Angie and Bill